Preview: Hands-on8th August 2004With the release of Pro Evolution Soccer 4 (PES4) , the Xequted team could not resist wetting your appetite with a hands on preview of this much anticipated sports game. We only got access to a limited demo - so not all aspects of the game will be covered, but from what we can see, this game is shaping up to be the bee's knees of all football games. Every year, Konami seem to improve on a 'perfect' game. The release of PES3 saw constant reviews of "the perfect football sim", "unbeatable". A year on and here we are saying the same things again! Konami have proved all of us wrong by doing the impossible -they've revamped the original engine into what quite simply can be put as "perfect". The game is even more fluid than last year's. Players run off the ball into spaces that they never even thought about in PES3. Through passes and long balls work to absolute perfection when timed correctly. Don't worry though, you won't get every ball perfectly to the feet of your target. Fire a long ball into the box and Sol Campbell will usually be there to tower above the strikers and header clear. Try a through pass with an England reserve player and nine times out of ten it'll go straight to a defender. Each player has their strengths and weaknesses, some are good with shooting, others passing. Each players stats realistically reflect the real life football stars we've all come to love. Players react and move like they would in real life. Beckham's work rate is perfectly balanced, and you'll find him spread across the whole pitch, with near perfect passing accuracy -even his free-kick style is spot on. Owen however, will be up front waiting for the right ball to come, and then he'll be able to whip past two defenders and slot it past the keeper in true style! We have even heard rumours that Manchester United's very own Ronaldo will run around doing very effective step-overs to dazzle his opponents before crossing in a deadly ball for his team mates to latch onto - but we'll have to wait and see on that one. All of this adds to the realism of what is quite simply an amazing footie game. Graphically, Konami have stepped up a gear (again) and produced some visually stunning realism. Players such as Rooney, Owen and Lampard look almost identical to their real life counter-parts. The stadiums have also been improved. There's a lot more detail with running tracks and sandpits surrounding the pitch. The Referee also plays a much larger part in the game. Advantage play is perfect, and the Ref AI has been vastly improved. A few minor tackles will see play carry on, but if that same player makes too many dodgy tackles a warning will be given. This makes the game feel a lot more fluid, and there won't be handset throwing tantrums when you give away a penalty in the 93rd minute from a very soft challenge. The major downfall with all PES titles is the sound. The English commentators are generally very dull, adding little (if any) inflection to their sayings, and when they eventually do say something interesting it tends to be miss-timed gibberish. This year there really hasn't been that much improvement; we're left to listen to Peter Brackley and Trevor Brooking mumble us through another season. Now we all know why Fifa fans stay with Fifa. It's not for the amazing gameplay - because, with no offence to EA, they haven't quite nailed it yet. It's for the realism of fully licensed teams and leagues, as well as pretty darn good commentary and crowd sounds. Konami have started to answer the cries of the hordes of PES fans and given them over 50 fully licensed teams, including sponsors. Although there are around 130 teams in PES4, it's still a vast improvement. Konami have also included a very in-depth editing tool for all you budding artists out there who want to re-create their favourite team to utter perfection (including their sponsor) If you can't be bothered with all that, then simply visit the biggest PES community about (www.pesfan.com) and take advantage of the hard work and time of the moderators and fans there by downloading the official option file with fully edited team names, starting 11's and, of course, sponsored (and very realistic) team kits - Version 1 due to be released on the same day as PES4. So who are you going to choose this year? We've certainly made up our minds -and although Fifa is looking good, we're not sure that it's got a chance against possibly the best sports game ever made, Pro Evolution Soccer 4. Stay tuned to Xequted for our full review -coming soon! |
|
